kingston claret

1 oz Pinot Noir (Rascal)
1 oz Brugal Añejo Rum (Flor de Caña Añejo Oro)
3/4 oz Lime Juice
3/4 oz Simple Syrup
1 dash Angostura Bitters
1 dash Fee's Old Fashioned Bitters (Fee's Whiskey Barrel Aged)

Shake with ice, strain into a cocktail glass, and garnish with 3 drop Fee's Old Fashioned Bitters (Fee's Whiskey Barrel Aged).
Two Fridays ago, I turned to the 2009 Rogue Cocktails book and spotted the Kingston Claret by Chicago's Mike Ryan. Actually, I spotted it first in the 2010 'zine edition that came between the two pressings, and this recipe was dropped when the book was relaunched as Beta Cocktails in 2011. Overall, the recipe was similar to No. 9 Park's take on a Bishop; since we had a bottle of Pinot Noir opened from dinner, I was definitely game to give it a shot. In the glass, the Kingston Claret welcomed the nose with cinnamon, caramel, lime, and grape aromas. Next, grape and lime on the sip sailed into rum, fruity, cinnamon, and clove flavors on the swallow.

punsch ghoul bowle

1 1/2 oz Appleton Estate Rum
1/4 oz Smith & Cross Rum
1/2 oz Batavia Arrack
1/2 oz Orange Juice
1/2 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Tempus Fugit Crème de Cacao
1/4 oz Demerara Syrup

Shake with ice, strain into a Collins glass, fill with crushed ice, add a straw, and float 1/2 oz of house red wine. Normally, the outer vessel would contain dry ice in a water bath to garnish the drink with fog, but their supplier was out of dry ice that day.

For my second drink at Backbar, I asked bartender Amanda Greenfield for the Punsch Ghoul Bowle which was the Halloween-themed drink of the week. The drink was crafted by Kat Lamper and was subtitled, "A Halloween treat for grownups inspired by a punch bowl cocktail popular in 1900." When I inquired as to which drink it was based off of, I was shown David Wondrich's Punch book that was open to the section on Punschglühbowle; that recipe consisted of two parts light red wine to one part Batavia Arrack along with orange juice, lemon juice, and sugar that was served both heated and flaming. Here, the drink was more spirit driven with the addition of Jamaican rums and flavored with chocolate liqueur.
The Punsch Ghoul Bowle began with a red wine aroma that gave way to a lemon and orange sip with a dark note from the crème de cacao. Next, the swallow showcased the funky rums and Arrack along with a complementary earthy note from the chocolate element. Over time, the red wine float entered the equation and appeared mostly in the sip.

frosty the julep

2 oz Old Granddad Bonded Bourbon
1/2 oz Peppermint Tea Syrup
1/2 oz St. George Geijer Glögg (*)

Build in a Julep cup, fill with crushed ice, and stir. Garnish with a cinnamon stick, sage leaf, mint sprig, and rosemary sprig, dust leaves with powdered sugar, and add a straw.
(*) Here, the drink was made with a house glögg.
I was about to be one and done and head home, but a mismake occurred and there was an extra Frosty the Julep that needed a home. The drink was created by bartender Josh Cross as his Winter-inspired Julep "because Frosty melted." It was one of the most elegantly garnished libations since the Meyer's Cobbler. Of all of the herbs, the mint was the most aromatic here. The sip was malt from the Bourbon joined by tingly mint notes from the tea, and the rest of the Bourbon and mint notes filled the swallow along with spice from the glögg.

damp hands of melancholy

1 1/2 oz Carpano Antica Sweet Vermouth
1 oz Amaro Montenegro
3/4 oz Shooting Star Syrah 2010 (*)
2 dash Jerry Thomas Decanter Bitters

Stir with ice and strain into a rocks glass containing two ice cubes. Flame an orange twist over the drink and garnish with a fresh one.
(*) Any big, dry, and tannic Syrah wine will do.

For a second drink at Park Restaurant in Harvard Square, I asked bartender Daren Swisher what else he had been tinkering with. Daren suggested a wine cocktail based off of a conversation with writer (and drink creator) Luke O'Neil about the difficulties of being a professional writer. In Luke's blog, he had a quote on this topic from James Thurber that contained the lines, "The notion that such persons [writers] are gay of heart and carefree are curiously untrue. ...The little wheels of their invention are set in motion by the damp hands of melancholy." Daren decided that he needed to craft a drink after that last phrase and set to work.
The Damp Hands of Melancholy began with orange oils and grape aromas. Grape was a common theme here for the sip was a sweet grape, and the swallow had more grape notes finishing with the dryness of wine tannins and the bitters' clove and cinnamon. Indeed, the drink was at first very grape, but after a few sips the balance began to change. Soon, the Amaro Montenegro's tangerine-mandarine and herbal complexity began to blossom as well as the clove from the bitters started to linger. While I attributed this to ice melt, Daren concluded that it was due to the build up of the Syrah's tannins on the tongue.

rudderless

2 oz Dry Red Wine (Bear Flag)
3/4 oz Batavia Arrack
1/2 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Pineapple Syrup (*)
1/4 oz Becherovka Liqueur
1 dash Angostura Bitters

Shake with ice and strain into an Old Fashioned glass or small Highball glass filled with ice. Garnish with a long orange twist and freshly grated nutmeg.
(*) In a pinch, a 1:1 syrup of pineapple juice:sugar would do no harm as a substitute here.
For Thursday Drink Night on Mixoloseum two weeks ago, the theme was "w(h)ine." The duality of the event title was parsed as creating a recipe using a wine product as an ingredient and naming it after a gripe of some sort. Since I recalled that Batavia Arrack pairs quite well with wine products ranging from port to white wines, I decided to take an old nautical approach to the drink with a Punch or Cooler style. For a thematically appropriate drink name, I dubbed it Rudderless to represent the whine of lacking direction in life. The Rudderless began with an orange, nutmeg, and red wine aroma. On the sip, the citrus and fruity grape notes joined with hints of pineapple. Next, the swallow offered up the Batavia Arrack's funkiness and the wine's tannins, and after a few sips, the Becherovka's clove began to surface on the finish. Indeed, the Batavia Arrack and red wine combination proved to be a solid one. The most amusing comment about the drink came from Dan of the KindredCocktails drink database who declared that the Rudderless was like, "a tiki Wine Cooler drizzled down a buttered stripper pole"; I am still pondering that one.

bell-ringer sour

2 tsp Pineapple Syrup
1 tsp Simple Syrup
2 tsp Lemon Juice
1 wineglass Hermitage Whiskey (2 oz Bulleit Bourbon)

Stir with ice and strain into a Sour glass pre-rinsed with apricot liqueur (Rothman & Winter). Add a dash of seltzer (omitted) and float a little claret on top (1/2 oz Bear Flag Red).

After the Rocket, I decided to go even older with a drink I spotted in James Maloney's 1900 book, The Twentieth-Century Cocktail Guide for Mixing Fancy Drinks. The Bell-Ringer Sour had Maloney's trademarked apricot liqueur rinse that I last utilized in his Manhattan Bell-Ringer; I was also drawn to the Bell-Ringer Sour for I was excited to use my new batch of pineapple gomme syrup again. Moreover, on top of this drink was a float of red wine that worked so well in the New York Sour.
The Bell-Ringer Sour's red wine float provided the initial aroma. Indeed, the red wine dominated the sip for the first part of the drink, and the swallow showcased whiskey and sour notes. After the wine layer had been drained, the fruity sip offered up lemon and pineapple flavors, and the swallow was full of Bourbon notes with an apricot finish.

gran paradiso

2 oz Barbera de Monferrato Wine (Bear Flag Red)
1 oz Ceylon Tea, chilled (Oolong)
1 oz Famous Grouse Blended Scotch
1/2 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Simple Syrup

Shake with ice and strain into a rocks glass containing a large ice cube. Garnish with freshly grated nutmeg.

For Thanksgiving, we were lucky to not have to face all the traffic this year, and instead Andrea and I stayed home and cooked. In wondering what to do with the rest of the bottle of red wine we had opened, Andrea found an article about wine cocktails in 7x7SF that had recipes from Alex Day, a former bartender at Death & Co. who is now a consultant in Los Angeles. The one that called out to me was the Gran Paradiso that had a classic punch-like feel to it.
The Gran Paradiso presented a Scotch and nutmeg aroma. This relatively dry drink began with lemon and wine flavors on the sip. The swallow contained the Scotch including some smoke notes that worked well with the tea; moreover, the tea along with the wine donated a lingering tannin note on the aftertaste. With the whiskey, wine, and lemon, the Gran Paradiso reminded me of the 19th century New York Sour.

alphonse

1 oz Cocchi Americano
3/4 oz Anchor Distilling Junipero Gin
1/2 oz Carpano Antica Sweet vermouth
1/2 oz Gobelsburger Rosé Wine
1/4 oz Cynar
1 dash Regan's Orange Bitters

Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

After leaving the Shakin' It Up event two Sundays ago, I walked across the Mass Ave bridge and made my way over to Craigie on Main. Craigie's bar was double staffed with Ted Gallagher and Jared Sadoian, and I felt quite lucky that there was an open seat for me. When I mentioned that I had never had their Alphonse, Ted suggested that I give it a try. The drink was named after Alphonse Mucha, a Czech painter who moved to Paris at the beginning of the Art Nouveau movement. Mucha's work is noted for his earth tones, feminine forms, and ornate borders. He is often best remembered for his advertising work for Champagnes and other products that made him rather wealthy. The drink was crafted as a result of diners asking for libations to have with food; therefore, the Alphonse was created to be lighter in style and more acidic of a drink.
The Alphonse's nose contained the Carpano Antica's grape aroma that was spiked with Junipero's piny note. The sip offered up a complex layering of wine flavors from the sweet vermouth, Cocchi Americano, and rosé along with a lemon-like zing. Next, the swallow came in two phases with the first being the gin with darker herbal hints from the Cynar and the second being orange notes with a lingering juniper signature. I was quite impressed at how much of a workhorse the Junipero gin was in this drink; the last time I remember noting this was in John Gertsen's Mission of Burma.

manischewitz cobbler & flip

With Passover upon us, I often hear questions about what can people drink since beer, whiskey, grain-based vodka and gin, and other ingredients are not allowed by lax standards and most things are not allowed by stricter ones. Some of my first alcohol memories came from drinking Manischewitz at Passover Seders. All I recall was not enjoying it despite it being sweetened and made from similar grapes as Welch's grape juice. Since then, Kosher for Passover wines have come a long way; however, none of them are as iconic as Manischewitz Concord Grape Wine. So how can this be improved? Or better yet, what would Jerry Thomas make for a Seder?

One of the Jerry Thomas recipes in the 1862 How to Mix Drinks; A Bon Vivant's Companion that I have not been able to make is the Catawba Cobbler. Catawba is a native grape hybrid that produces foxy and odorous wines that played a major role in the country's early wine production. By Jerry Thomas' early days, it was the most widely planted grape variety in the country; now, there are only a small number of wineries that sell this and few liquor stores actually will carry it. Instead of acquiring some in my next trip out to the Finger Lakes region of New York, I decided to use Manischewitz which is made from native grapes (51% Concord with no declaration of what the rest is). While it is not as odorous and unique as Catawba, any recipe that works for Catawba should do quite well with Manischewitz.

Catawba Manischewitz Cobbler
• 1 tsp Sugar
• 1 tbsp Water
• 2 wineglass Wine (4 oz Manishewitz Concord)
Dissolve sugar in water. To add flavor, I muddled the sugar with orange peel before adding the water. While a shaking with ice step was not specified, I added wine and ice, shaked, and strained. Strain into a tumbler filled with shaved ice (crushed ice). Add a straw and ornament with an orange slice and berries in season.

The ornamentation contributed greatly to the drink's aroma which was filled with strawberry and orange notes. The sip was a slightly orange-tinged fruit flavor that was followed by a funky native American grape swallow. While the starting ingredient here was not as tasty as the Pedro Ximénez in the Sherry Cobbler at Cure, the drink here was almost as enjoyable. Between the extra sugar and the melting ice, the Manischewitz was tamed considerably. Later versions of Catawba Cobblers that include orange juice or muddled/shaken orange slices would probably bring the drink some extra glory. While I wanted to stick with the recipe as Jerry gave it, I could not help but think that a dash or two of Angostura would work wonders here.
Since I still had a mostly full bottle of wine in front of me, I figured that I should attempt another recipe that could possibly work even better than the Cobbler -- a Flip! Along with orange juice, dairy, and honey, egg works wonders in taming rougher ingredients. While I could not find a Catawba Flip, I did have a recipe for a Claret one in Tom Bullock's The Ideal Bartender (although my hardcopy is entitled 173 Pre-Prohibition Cocktails: Potations So Good They Scandalized A President).

Claret Manischewitz Flip
• 2 heaping tsp Sugar (1 tsp)
• 1 1/2 jigger Wine (2 1/4 oz Manishewitz Concord)
• 1 Egg
Dissolve sugar in water (2 tsp). Add rest of ingredients and ice, shake, and strain into a punch glass. Garnish with freshly grated nutmeg.

Since Manischewitz is a sweetened wine opposed to a dry claret, I decreased the additional sugar in the recipe. Unlike in the Cobbler, the grape notes did enter into the aroma along with the nutmeg garnish. The egg provided a creamy sip and mellowed out the funky grape notes on the swallow. Strangely, the drink finished sweeter than it started on the sip. Over time, the nutmeg entered the flavor profile and provided some nice spice notes that complemented the wine's funkiness.
So there are two drinks that can easily be made completely Kosher for Passover even by the strictest laws. The pre-Prohibition bartenders often had to deal with poor quality wines and spirits, so their wisdom pays dividends in making Manischewitz into tasty libations. Their wisdom does not extend into what to do with Matzoh to make it more palatable though.

national rifle cup

1 bottle Claret (6 oz Porta dos Cavaleiros Dão 2007)
1/2 peel of Lemon Cut Thin (1/8th)
a few slices Lemon
1 wineglass Brandy (1/2 oz Pedro Domecq Fundador Solera Reserva)
1 wineglass Curaçao (1/2 oz Senior Curaçao)
1 tbsp Sugar (1 tsp)
a few sprigs Borage or rind of a small Cucumber (sadly, omitted)
Ice
1 syphon bottle Lemonade (6 oz Rieme Pink Grapefruit Sparkling Limonade)

Mix up all ingredients save for the ice and sparkling lemonade. The recipe does not mention any steeping, but I let it sit for an hour to acquire flavors from the lemon peel and slices (as well as the borage/cucumber had I added them). Add ice and lemonade before serving.

The other drink we had on Tuesday was from the 1871 Gentleman's Table Guide, namely the National Rifle Cup. I was curious about the drink for it appeared like a British version of Sangria. I later regretted not holding off on making this recipe until I had a cucumber peel especially when I remembered how much flavor it donated to the Tea Julep. But alas, I was more focused on finishing off this bottle of wine.
The National Rifle Cup did have a rather Sangria-like aroma. A combination of citrus and carbonation greeted my tongue on the sip with the sweetened wine flavors dominating on the swallow. I was impressed at how well the sparkling pink grapefruit limonade complemented the red wine, and it along with the Curaçao and sugar helped to soften the wine's tannic bite. Finally, Andrea commented that she was surprised at how girly of a drink this seemed like given the National Rifle Cup as its name.

locomotive

This month's Mixology Monday theme, "Some Like It Hot" (MxMo LV), was picked by Nancy of the Backyard Bartender blog. Nancy's challenge was simple -- "make anything you want to, as long as it's served hot."

The theme was rather easy to pick a drink for as I had been eyeing the Locomotive in various old drink books for quite a while. The drink was named after one of the major advances in transportation of the early 19th century. Steam locomotives allowed for great numbers of passengers and large amounts of freight to be transported quickly, efficiently, and reliably between cities. Since these early railway vehicles used heat to generate steam to propel them, having a hot drink named after them was not very surprising.

The recipe I chose was from Cooling Cups and Dainty Drinks from 1869 for it had a better recipe than the one that first tempted me in Modern American Drinks from 1895. It caught my eye and made me curious as it used red wine as a base, was sweetened with honey and orange liqueur, and was thickened with egg yolks. While that seems unusual by today's drink standards, this fell within the norm for the time period of the mid 19th century. And after trying it, the Locomotive still holds ground. The recipe from the book with my modifications was as follows:

Locomotive
• 1 pint red Roussilon or Burgundy Wine (16 oz Porta dos Cavaleiros Dão 2007)
• 2 Egg Yolks
• 1 oz Honey
• 1 drop Essence of Cinnamon (1/4 tsp Ground Cinnamon)
• 3 drop Essence of Clove (1/8 tsp Ground Clove)
• 1/2 gill Curaçao (2 oz Senior Curaçao)
Heat wine with cinnamon and clove to nearly boiling. Meanwhile, beat up egg yolks, honey, and Curaçao until frothed. Add hot wine to egg yolk mixture, mix, and serve. I added a freshly grated nutmeg garnish.

Since I did not have the essences, I used ground spice instead; the original recipe called for the essences to be added to the egg yolk mixture, but I figured that a little extra mulling would help to bring the flavor out. Moreover, the drink seemed like it could use a nutmeg garnish so I took the liberty of adding it. The recipe makes 4 punch cups worth.
The Cooling Cups book included the pun that "it will drive away care," and after a few of these, the author would be right. The drink's nose was full of red wine aroma that was spiced by nutmeg and clove. On the sip, the honey and orange flavors were rather pleasing, and this was followed by the red wine, cinnamon, and clove notes on the swallow. The honey and egg yolk donated a luxurious thickness and mouthfeel that made the Locomotive rather delightful to drink. In addition, the wine's tannins and the sweetness of the honey and liqueur neutralized the other rather well. The warmth did make the drink seem more potent than it was as the heat increased the mouth's sensitivity to alcohol. Overall, the Locomotive was well worth trying on a cold winter's night and perhaps a great use of a leftover, unfinished bottle of wine.

Cheers to Nancy for picking the theme and hosting and to Paul for being the benevolent railroad yardmaster to us hobos.

angels' share

a) 6 Cranberries
1 Sugar Cube
1 splash Water

b) 2 oz Red Wine (Underwood Cellars Pinot Noir)
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
3/4 oz Simple Syrup
1/4 oz Maraschino Liqueur
1/4 oz Campari

Muddle ingredients in (a). Add ingredients in (b) and ice, shake, and double strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with 3 cranberries.

For my second drink at the Gallows two Sundays ago, I asked bartender Carl Donheiser for the Angels' Share. When I first visited the Gallows, the drink was on the menu with a more seasonal fruit, Concord grapes; the switching to cranberries tempted me into ordering this drink for I wanted to see how they paired with Campari. Moreover, I was curious to taste a modern wine-based cocktail, for most that I have tasted have been late 19th or early 20th century recipes or variations thereof. For a wine, the bar varies the selection, but it is always something low on tannins, and this drink was made with a Pinot Noir from Oregon's Underwood Cellars.
The wine in the Angels' Share came across strongly in the drink's aroma. A tart cranberry sip matched the red wine and citrus flavors. Surprisingly, the Campari was rather subtle in the drink and acted more as an accent to support the cranberry. Personally, I would have preferred a bit more of a Campari signature. When I mentioned this to Carl, he commented that when the drink was created with Concord grapes, the Campari rang out more, and that they did not readjust the proportions to compensate for the seasonal change in the fruit's identity. While some people might find this drink too tart, I quite enjoyed its refreshing balance.

bishop

2 oz Neisson Rhum Agricole Blanc
3/4 oz Claret (Château de Respide, Grave Rouge 2006)
1/2 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Simple Syrup
2 dash Angostura Bitters

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a lime twist.

Last Tuesday, Andrea and I were in the mood for cocktails so we made a trip over to No. 9 Park where bartender Ted Kilpatrick was presiding. For my first drink, I ordered the Bishop off of the menu. While Jerry Thomas' Bishop does not contain red wine, later versions of this drink include it in along with the rum. For a rum-wine pairing, a rather minerally rhum agricole, Neisson Blanc from sugar cane grown on volcanic soil, was matched with a Grave Bordeau known for its flinty minerality. Ted described the drink as "juicy and dry" and the "closest thing to sangria [that No. 9 would have on its menu]."
The Bishop's nose was full of lime oil and rhum agricole funk and grassiness. Indeed, the drink was very minerally, and it was akin to a Daiquiri enriched and dried out by red wine and Angostura Bitters. Moreover, it was surprising how well the wine's tannins and the lime flavors coupled.

new york sour

2 oz Rye (Pikesville)
1/2 Lemon (~3/4 oz Juice)
1/2 oz Water
1 tsp Sugar (1 Demerara Sugar Cube)
1 dash Curacao (1/4 oz Curacao of Curacao)
1/2 oz oz Claret (Herding Cats Cab/Shiraz)

Muddle sugar in water. Add rye, lemon juice, curacao, and ice and shake. Strain into a cocktail or sour glass and float the wine on top.

On Thursday before cooking dinner, I cracked open David Wondrich's Imbibe! and found the recipe for the New York Sour which had been mentioned on Chow. I was attracted to the recipe for the concept of the red wine float. Wondrich cites a Chicago bartender who claimed that the float of red wine gives the drink "the claret 'snap'... [which] makes the drink look well and it gives it a better taste." To the recipe, I took Wondrich's recommendation to reduce the sugar from 1 tablespoon to 1 teaspoon and also "modernized" the recipe by using the 1880's-era addition of curacao.
To what would be an otherwise regular rye sour, the curacao rounded out the citrus flavors and added more depth. The wine float surprisingly lingered even the glass was emptied, albeit in diminished depth. Indeed, the wine did not just add a delightful appearance to the drink but the tannins served to dry out the drink slightly besides adding to the flavor. The extra attention to details in the recipe levitated this drink above a normal whiskey sour and made it quite a "pleasant-looking, red-headed drink" (Chicago Tribune, 1883).

xalapa punch

When our friend Matt took us up on the offer to borrow one our punch bowls for his party, he asked if I wanted to pick a recipe. After looking online and in our book collection, the Xalapa Punch caught my eye. Unlike many of the punches with a rich history surrounding them, the Xalapa's was elusive and I could not even confirm that it was created in the city in Mexico. The oldest reference I could find was in The Blue Grass Cook Book from 1904 (available as a pdf download here): [1]
Matt wanted to do a trial run of the punch. I made a 4 cup version of a more modern recipe. Most of the newer recipes call for grated orange peels instead of lemon. Matt approved.

Shortly after that, I bought David Embury's The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks and decided to use his version of the recipe:

Xalapa Punch
• 2 1/2 quarts strong black tea
• 1 pint simple syrup
• grated peel of 2 lemons
• 1 bottle applejack
• 1 bottle rum
• 1 bottle dry red wine
• 1 lemon sliced thin
Pour the hot tea over the lemon peel and allow to stand 10 to 15 minutes. Add the sugar syrup and stir thoroughly. Cool, add the liquors and wine, and let stand an hour or more to ripen. Pour over ice in Punch bowl and add lemon slices just before serving.

A day before the party, I made the lemon-rind infused tea (Oolong) and simple syrup (1:1) and stored it in the refrigerator overnight. I left the liquor and wine choices up to Matt. He went with Laird's Applejack, Mount Gay Eclipse Rum, and Casillero del Diablo Merlot, and he had them stored in the freezer (liquors) and fridge (wine) as requested.
The end product was a delightful lemon-flavored tea and sangria hybrid which the guests seemed to enjoy a lot. The punch was not overly boozy-tasting but still packed some heat at around 13% alcohol. The lemon flavor was a lot more subtle than the orange in the trial batch which could either be due to the quantity of oils in the citrus I purchased, how the flavors work with the punch, or the wine choice. The Casillero del Diablo was a lot more robust than the small bottle of Sutter Home we used in the trial, so it played a more dominant role in the flavor profile. Perhaps a low end Calvados (like the $20 Morin) would have added more apple flavor than the applejack did especially against the wine.

[1] A little research after the fact points that there is a famous horse stable, Xalapa Farm, in Kentucky which would explain the Blue Grass Cookbook connection and favor it over a Mexican one.

brandy rum sangaree

1 Sugar Cube
1/2 oz Water
2 oz Brandy (Pierre Ferrand Ambre Cognac)
1 oz Rum (Barbancourt 8 Year Rhum)
~1/4 oz Red Wine (OG Syrah)
Muddle sugar cube in water. Add ice, stir, and strain into a cocktail glass. Float wine on top.

For my second beverage at Drink, John Gertsen stuck with the brandy theme and kept it even more old school by suggesting a sangaree, a drink that pre-dates the cocktail. Sangarees are something I have read about in many cocktail books in the section after the cocktail, highball, and punch chapters and right before the index, but are a class of drink I have neither made nor had. Some of the older styles of sangarees use port or sherry and add sugar, ice, and a sprinkling of ground nutmeg but later varieties branched out to ale, gin, and brandy. Jerry Thomas' recipe for the brandy sangaree is as follows:

Brandy Sangaree
(Use medium bar-glass.)
Take 1/2 teaspoonful of fine white sugar dissolved in
a little water.
1 wine-glass of brandy.
Fill the glass one-third full of shaved ice, shake up well, strain into a small glass and dash a little Port wine on top. Serve with a little grated nutmeg.

John adapted the recipe by swapping out some of the brandy for rum, using wine instead of port as a float, and omitting the nutmeg entirely. The wine John used was one from the Languedoc region and his float had issues. Regardless of his float technique using the back of a barspoon and a gentle hand pouring a small mixing cup of wine, a good percentage of the wine sank. Not sure what aspect of the densities was off in the drink, but the issue seemed to bother John more than it did me. The brandy rum sangaree tasted very much like a strong punch. Very simple and to the point, the drink was well balanced and did not need to venture into the realm of bitters which would distract from the drinker from its innate beauty.

rome is burning

1 1/2 oz. cognac
3/4 oz. Punt e Mes
1/4 oz. grenadine
3 dashes Peychaud's bitters

Stir on ice jusque à froid. Strain into a cocktail glass.

Add 1 1/2 - 2 oz. Lambrusco.

Transcribed on 4 October, 2008 from a register tape filled with elegant, rounded script (not my own).

Yes, yes, I know. A bit late with my posts. Work's been busy, but now that I've emerged somewhat from paperwork hell, I can catch up.

Fred had suggested that we stop in at Rendezvous a couple of Saturdays ago. I felt nicely warmed by the glass of crusted port with which I had finished my dinner at Vee Vee, and so I took him up on the suggestion. Scott greeted us with his usual friendly half-smile and poured us some water while we settled into seats nearest the door. Looking over the menu, I decided on Rome is Burning, for no other reason than the name sounded so very evocative. "Yes, indeed, Rome is Burning."

The nose was very grapey. The color - darkest purple-red. The taste - much sweeter than I anticipated, with a very slight effervescent bite. Sadly, I concluded it really wasn't what I wanted to drink à ce moment-là. The bartender later warned me that the cocktail is more of an apéritif, and I can see that the flavor might have worked better had I not just eaten (and imbibed) something sweet (a slice of cheesecake and the aforementioned port). So I passed the cocktail glass off to Fred. I still wanted a cocktail, so I waited while Fred finished my drink before requesting another drink.